Graduate Ethics Standards

Ethics Committee

Preamble

The NMSU Code of Ethics and its accompanying Standards of Conduct promotes excellence in research and teaching at NMSU by identifying the principles, values, and expected behaviors that NMSU considers fundamental to the successful development of faculty and graduate students. The Code of Ethics has as its foundation the expectation that faculty and graduate students will act with integrity and respect, in an environment of shared responsibility for promoting excellence in research, teaching and professional service. The Code of Ethics and Standards of Conduct in this document describes accepted practices for Graduate Students, Faculty, Programs/Departments and the Graduate school in the following domains: progress toward degree, research and creative activities, graduate learning environment, professional growth and advancement, assistantships and financial aid and community engagement. These guidelines were developed by constituents representing faculty, administrators, and graduate students across the Colleges.

Progress Toward Degree

Ethical Principle

Faculty and graduate students will demonstrate a shared responsibility through respect, honest academic conduct and a scholarly support system to include the program/department and the graduate school in achieving successful progress toward the completion of the designated degree for the graduate student.

Conduct regular evaluation of graduate students and communicate regularly with students about their progress. Provide opportunities for students to correct academic deficiencies before dismissal.

Provide professional development activities for students and faculty on graduate education, the graduate catalog, and relevant policies and procedures.

Know and abide by the policies and procedures of department, including departmental graduate handbook, and graduate school.

Organize events and share information that fosters professional development in graduate students. Facilitate peer interactions.

Prepare and regularly revise a graduate student handbook that includes information on degree requirements, time to degree completion, and services that support academic performance.

Graduate School to monitor development and up-dating of grad student handbook.

Research and Creative Activities

Ethical Principle

Faculty and graduate students conduct their research with integrity and transparency, consistent with their disciplines’ ethical code, NMSUS’ best practices, and federal regulations. All graduate student research must be supervised by a faculty member. At NMSU the Office of Research Integrity and Research Compliance serves as the central resource for information regarding research policies, ethics, and relevant compliance issues across disciplines. As a Land Grant, Hispanic Serving Institution and a Carnegie High Research Activity Institution, we acknowledge our unique status and responsibility to the community.

Graduate Student

Faculty

Program/ Department

Graduate School

Request clear guidelines for ethical and responsible conduct from your faculty advisor/research supervisor. Be accountable to those guidelines

Serve as a role model and mentor for conducting research with integrity and transparency. Keep current on your discipline’s research policies, ethics, and relevant compliance issues.

Provide current information to graduate students and faculty about research policies, ethics, and relevant compliance issues as appropriate for discipline. Information must be included in Graduate Handbook.

Ensure that all graduate programs have handbooks that are current and comprehensive pertaining to research policies, ethics, and relevant compliance issues as appropriate for discipline.

Assume responsibility for timely execution and completion of research duties.

Provide clear guidelines and timely feedback to promote completion of research project/assignments.

Manage expectations and promote and monitor fair treatment of graduate students in allocation of research funding/opportunities.

Understand discipline’s guiding principles, values, and expected behaviors pertaining to academic integrity in the conduct of scholarly and creative activities, including but not limited to plagiarism, and falsification and/or fabrication of data.

Provide students with non-abusive environment conducive to research mentorship

In collaboration with the VP for Research Integrity, adjudicate cases in which faculty and/or graduate students have acted inappropriately and/or are alleged to have violated research ethics and integrity policies.

Acknowledge contributions of others to your work following disciplinary standards and conventions.

Establish clear guidelines for recognizing authorship/contribution to collaborative research efforts before start of project

Regularly review and update (at least once every three years) departmental/disciplinary guidelines for ethical and responsible conduct of research in the field.

Seek out opportunities to apprentice on collaborative research projects

Work to create opportunities to collaborate with advisee on research projects

Graduate Learning Environment

Ethical Principle

Faculty and Graduate Students will act with the highest level of competency, commitment, and integrity, in an environment of shared responsibility for promoting excellence in teaching and student learning.

Graduate Student

Faculty

Program/ Department

Graduate School

Engage in self-directed learning. Be goal focused and contribute to positive classroom interaction.

Maintain best practices in teaching. Keep current in your field and implement these practices in your classroom.

Encourage faculty professional development. Periodic review of the curriculum.

Refresh or review academic curricula periodically.

Utilize academic resources; take responsibility for your own learning.

Assistantships and Financial Aid

Ethical Principle

Faculty and Graduate Students will support transparent, timely and responsible stewardship of resources to promote fair distribution of funds across colleges, departments and students for the purpose of supporting graduate education, training and research.

Graduate Student

Faculty

Program/ Department

Graduate School

Become well informed about all financial aid and support available.

Present realistic job prospects and gainful employment options based on recent alumni and professional data from the discipline.

Provide accurate and timely information regarding expectations and requirements for financial support for students.

Provide full and timely information regarding students’ financial responsibilities for enrollment in graduate programs and to facilitate recruitment and retention.

Educate self about actual expenses and cost of living for graduate studies.

Review requirements with advisees to ensure students understand financial obligations of the program.